The Rueful Avenger
by YukiwaFuru
Summary: AU/AD.Time-travel.After Madara extracts Kyuubi from Naruto, Sasuke sets a new course of revenge.But when the two Sharingan users clash, the unexpected occurs.Stuck in another world, will Sasuke manage to save a different Naruto? Discontinued, up for adoption.
1. Betrayal

Edited ch1 Rueful Avenger. Enjoy.

Disclaimed.

He looked down at body at his feet with empty eyes and a numb heart. Despite his detachment, however, there was a painful lurch in his stomach and a dull burn in his esophagus as his body expressed feelings he had long ago abandoned. He had to concentrate to keep from swallowing or increasing his heart rate and giving himself away. He couldn't help but wonder at his body's ability to be sickened by the sight and smell of a dead body even after all the blood he'd shed. This was no ordinary corpse, however, which might explain his unusual response. No, not ordinary at all, this was the corpse that had once been Uzumaki Naruto.

He didn't jump when a cold hand clamped down on his left shoulder. "Do you regret it?" Madara asked.

"No." Sasuke answered simply.

"Liar." Madara accused.

"I am annoyed that you interfered in my fight." Sasuke looked away from Naruto's body and straight into Madara's eye.

"No need to look so murderous, Sasuke. Would you rather have died?" Madara taunted him, reminding him that without Madara's intervention, he would probably have already joined Naruto in the afterlife. During their fight Naruto had managed to hold his own. While he sustained serious injuries in the process, by the end of the fight he had overpowered and outlasted Sasuke. Heh, he never could match the dobe's stamina. In the end, Naruto had stood over an immobile Sasuke and smiled gently.

"I'll make it quick, then finish Madara and come join you. My dream is meaningless if my best friend isn't a part of it." His kunai had begun its downward descent and Sasuke had passed out from blood loss and chakra exhaustion before the final blow had even been struck. Talk about wimping out at the last moment.

When he came to he found himself at the tender mercy of Kabuto yet again, who looked freakier than ever. He took one look at the mad snake wannabe and couldn't resist asking, "You didn't alter my DNA or anything weird like that while I was out of it, right?" Kabuto then proceeded to reassure him in his new, slightly sibilant tone that Madara hadn't given his permission for experimentation...yet. Great. After finally getting away from Kabuto's covetous and slightly perverted gaze, Sasuke went to find Madara and ask him what had happened. Instead of finding the ancient man, however, he stumbled across something far more frightening. Naruto's empty body laying crumpled at the base of Gedo Mazo, which, not surprisingly, had one more open eye than the last time he'd seen it, making nine in total.

Sasuke ignored Madara's inquiry regarding his mental health. "What happened after I passed out?" he asked. Madara considered him a moment before answering, "He hesitated. After you passed out he hesitated and didn't finish you off right away. That's why I was able to capture him and retrieve you as well."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "So if he'd killed me you wouldn't have captured him?"

Madara laughed, a hollow, mirthless sound. "I would have caught him, but you would be dead." He stopped laughing and looked at Sasuke again.

Sasuke, however, had returned his eyes to the corpse of his former friend. "Hn. He fell into your trap, exactly as predicted. Too bad the fool didn't manage to keep his promise to take me with him in the end." A slightly bitter sneer graced his face momentarily. "The idiot always was mostly talk."

With that he turned around and walked away. He stopped briefly and turned to ask in an emotionless voice, "So, when do we destroy Konoha?"

Madara was pleased with the deadened look in his eyes and replied, "As soon as you're recovered." Without responding or taking another glance at the corpse on the floor, Sasuke calmly walked out of the room.

Lying on his bunk trying to sleep, Sasuke thought back to the last moments he'd seen Naruto, moments Naruto undoubtedly and foolishly believed to be the last moments he would see Sasuke alive. "I'll...come join you. My dream is meaningless if my best friend isn't a part of it." When he thought about it, that sentiment was the exact opposite of the Uchiha's; that the only true role a best friend could play in the fulfillment of a goal is through lending power by dying. Naruto, however, inverted that idea, instead asserting that if his best friend must be killed to achieve his dream, then he would die before it could be fulfilled. Ironically enough, Sasuke had still not actively participated in the Uchiha curse. He hadn't killed his friend to get the Mangekyou, and he had neither killed his brother to gain the Eternal Mangekyou nor taken Itachi's eyes from him while he was living. Itachi had been dying anyway and if he hadn't been there was no way Sasuke would have been able to kill him or take his eyes. Not that Sasuke was in any way innocent, but he was innocent of the crimes that were, in a way, his birthright.

What Sasuke couldn't understand though was the hesitation. Naruto was sure that he was doing the right thing for both of them; Sasuke could see it in his eyes. No hesitation. So why at the last moment..? Sasuke wasn't sure, didn't think he'd ever be sure exactly why, but he hardly thought that Naruto suddenly had a change of heart. Perhaps it was simply the sight of Sasuke unconscious that caused him to hesitate. Maybe it was Naruto's way of reminding Sasuke of his own hesitation in the Valley of the End. And that bonds can't be broken by anything but cold-blooded murder and sometimes even that's not enough. The dobe would have thought that way, trying to show Sasuke that even though he recognized the need to cut ties with Sasuke to accomplish his goals and protect his precious people he wouldn't do it. That he would, as always, seek to find another way. Or at least that he would wait to do what was necessary until they were on equal ground again, despite the fact that he'd already earned his victory once. Stubborn dobe.

Sasuke turned over and stared at the wall. He could already feel it. Emotion was flooding back into his tepid body. Not grief, but anger. He was angry at himself for giving in to weakness at such a critical time. Angry at Madara for robbing him once and for all of that final moment of understanding and of the closure that Sasuke would have gained by killing Naruto or being killed by him. Angry at Naruto for stubbornly maintaining the bond between them despite everything and dying before it could be fully broken by Sasuke. Angry at Itachi for lying to him and making Sasuke hate him for so long. And finally...regret. For everything. Sasuke could tell by now that he was going to betray Madara; he just wondered, in an offhand sort of a way, when Madara would realize it too.

R&R


	2. Death

Hey. Quick little update here for those of you interested in this story. Future chapters will be longer, no worries. Till then, enjoy.

Disclaimed.

A few months later found Sasuke and Madara finally facing off over Konoha, of all things. As the fight drew on, Naruto's friends looked at him with increasing confusion, which he ignored. They were probably wondering why the man who declared his desire to destroy Konoha so recently and helped kill their friend was suddenly defending them. Well, he was still kind of wondering about that, too.

Sasuke had to admit he was impressed, though. Madara hadn't batted an eyelash when Sasuke turned on him. Either the man had expected it or he was just very experienced with betrayal. Well, he knew that the second was true, at least.  
The battle had been long and hard and Sasuke honestly didn't think he was going to win at this point. Funny that he of all people was going to go out trying to kill one of his own family members. For the sake of an out-clan idiot, at that.

As he prepared his final attack with Susano'o, he thought he understood a little of the frustration many had felt when facing members of his elite clan. That teleportation ability of Madara's was annoying in the extreme. He aimed with his bow and arrow futilely; knowing the man across from him wouldn't be hit despite the shot's 100 percent accuracy.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted movement and instinctively paused his attack for an instant. Such hesitation was usually a fatal mistake, but he knew better that to ignore his instincts. Sure enough a shadow on the ground to Madara's left split, went in different directions around him and then leaped into the air, seeking to impale the man from three sides. He easily dodged to the right only to find himself a beat away from being broken by an enraged Sakura's chakra-charged fist. Madara phased out partway and then disappeared entirely, dodging both Sakura's punch and Sasuke's arrow. He appeared behind the girl and stabbed at her with his kunai. As his kunai touched the back of her form-fitting top, however, two things happened that Madara hadn't been at the right angle to see coming before his teleportation. The first was that Shikamaru, who had caught Sakura's shadow in his and then waited patiently, jerked her forward just as the kunai began to bite into her back, thereby saving her from a fatal injury. The second was that Sasuke's Chidori-covered fist blossomed out of the front of Madara's chest, impaling him through the heart.

Sasuke had known that Madara would be unable to resist killing the girl that had dared to attack him. He was no longer masquerading as the unflappable goofball Tobi, after all. Considering that, Sasuke pumped a fair portion of his remaining chakra into Susano'o as soon as he'd released the arrow and abandoned the jutsu, praying that it would hold long enough to fool Madara. He then suppressed the rest of his chakra and ran towards the space between Madara and Sakura, carefully staying out of the man's peripheral vision. As Madara materialized and attacked, Sasuke jumped towards the man silently, still suppressing his chakra and watching the progress of the man's attack over his shoulder. Sasuke formed a Chidori at the last moment and plunged it through Madara's back just as the man attempted to do the same to Sakura. As Sasuke stood there with his forearm still embedded in Madara's body, he could have sworn he heard Naruto turn over in his grave. He would not have been happy that Sasuke had been willing to sacrifice Sakura to kill Madara. Fortunately, the Konoha set didn't seem to expect more than minimal cooperation from him instead of true teamwork.

Sasuke had begun yanking his arm out of the dying man's body when he paused, his blood freezing in his veins. Madara had craned his head around just enough to pin Sasuke with one hate-filled eye and then proceeded to set the other Uchiha on fire. Sasuke had never seen the ancient man use any technique besides his teleportation jutsu and he was probably still unable to use his old techniques, but apparently he had managed to copy Amaterasu and he used it now to great effect.

Sasuke finished pulling his arm out of Madara and stumbled back, struggling to extinguish the black flames licking at his body. It usually wouldn't be much of a problem, but his chakra was depleted and it took all of his initial effort just to protect his face. He fell to the ground in eerie silence, landing on his back. All of his attention was focused on extinguishing the remaining flames eating into his chest. He allowed the rest of his chakra to bleed into his eyes and the flames finally went out, leaving him to register excruciating pain and the stink of his own charred flesh. He laid there for what felt like an eternity waiting for the end to come, knowing in his current state he didn't have long.

When it didn't come he opened his eyes, just then noticing the different and far gentler warmth now suffusing his chest. Sasuke looked up to see Sakura doing her best to treat his wounds, although he knew it must be too late considering how much blood was gushing from the hole burned in his chest. So much for the flames cauterizing his wound, it was far too deep for that. Now that he thought about it, his lungs must have been burned too, because he was having a hell of a time breathing. He looked into Sakura's eyes curiously, wondering what he would find there. She looked angry, sad, tired, determined and conflicted all at once. There were even traces of her earlier confusion and some guilt, probably for treating one of Naruto's killers. Odd that he could read her so well after all this time.

She growled lowly in her throat, "Goddammit, Sasuke, you are not going to die after Naruto gave up everything bringing you back." She looked like she wanted to cry again but didn't. 'Huh. She turned out pretty well considering she started out as one of my fan-girls.' Behind her stood Kakashi, who looked both sad and...was that pride? Whatever. It hardly mattered what his old sensei thought of him now. He looked to see the remnants of the Konoha twelve standing around him, not looking particularly sad at his state, but not happy either. If anything they looked solemn. He could live with that. Or not.

He chuckled, an uncharacteristic sound that would have been terrifying if it had come out as more than a wet gurgle. "I-I guess I r-really am the l-last." He croaked out.

He heard Shikamaru chuckle, "Still obsessed with your clan, even at the end, eh? Troublesome." Sasuke took a glance at the man who never struck him as much back at the academy. 'He worked out a plan with Sakura knowing that both Madara and I would jump at the openings he created. Impressive.' Sasuke looked at the sky blankly.

"He would p-probably s-still be a-alive if..." he trailed off, muttering to no one in particular. There was silence around him, then an unfamiliar voice broke into his thoughts.

"Naruto-kun followed his nindo to the end. That's what made him who he was." The voice all but whispered. He struggled to turn his head towards the girl that had spoken. She didn't look familiar, but by the eyes he realized she must be Hinata. She looked at him without rancor, only a deep and quiet sadness that he was surprised to realize was directed towards both Naruto and, to a lesser extent, him. She reminded him of his strong and kind mother and he was suddenly hit by a strong sense of wrongness. Naruto should have been here. The sense of wrongness grew more intense. It shouldn't have gone this way. He avenged his clan, but it would end with him. Naruto never became Hokage, even though the people surrounding Sasuke acted like he had been. He stared at the sky helplessly as the feeling that he had had since he first saw Naruto's dead body overwhelmed him. 'I guess in the end neither of our dreams triumphed' was his last thought as he sunk into darkness.

He floated in the inky blackness for what seemed like forever. 'This is boring as hell' was all he could think at one point. A laugh broke the silence, sending shivers down his body that felt like broken glass shards caressing his skin. "I assure you hell is anything but boring." A vaguely feminine voice said, sounding amused. "So if you're having a problem with boredom, how about I send you there instead?"

Sasuke felt something brush past him in the darkness and he fought to keep his voice calm and polite as he replied, pretending he hadn't heard the voice's taunt. "Would you mind telling me where am I and your name?"

"Oh, what a surprise. I expected you to be more imperious in person. Maybe you have some sense, after all." Not knowing how to respond, Sasuke kept his mouth shut. "Hmph, you're no fun. All right, I'll answer one of your questions. You're in the afterlife and I'm your judge. Now usually I would just send you to hell or at least purgatory, but I received a request recently that I think you'll be interested in. A boy died before his time with his destiny unfulfilled and since it's rare for that to happen he was granted the right to make two requests. Two is such a good number, don't you think? Well, his first request was that he get the chance to get his father's soul back from the Shinigami, a tricky proposition in and of itself, and the second was that if you died nobly you would be given the chance to go to the same place he is. So, what do you say?" Again there was a brushing past him, this time touching the small of his back teasingly.

Sasuke gaped, "Naruto asked for that? Is he insane?"

"Wrong. The correct answer was, 'Thank you. I am very grateful to him and I graciously accept'." The voice snickered, once again washing over him like many small blades cutting into his flesh. He felt he should be more concerned that he was enjoying the sensation.

Sasuke quickly sobered and replied carefully, "It's not that I'm not grateful, but you said that I would be offered the chance to join him. What's the catch?"

"Oh, clever little thing, aren't you? Well, you're right. We're very careful to make sure that people go to where they belong. It's a matter of pride that there's never been an improperly placed soul, and we're certainly not going to start with you. The best that your death would normally earn you is a spot in purgatory as I already mentioned, so there's no way I can send you to the Fields like I did with your friend. So, you're going to have to earn it. Or rather, you're going to have to accept punishment first." A warmer chuckle came from the voice this time, which had the inverse effect of chilling him even more than the others had.

He steeled himself before asking, "What's the punishment? I'll accept it."

"Hmm, I wouldn't be so hasty if I were you. But since you already accepted, I'll issue your sentence and send you on your way. This option was going to be offered to your friend originally, but since he wanted to save his father's soul, you'll take his place instead.  
There's a dimension much like yours that is heading towards destruction just as yours was. The problem is that there's nothing stopping it currently. Your job is to change that. How you go about doing that, however, and whether or not you succeed is up to you. I'll judge you again when you die a second time. Good luck!" The voice sounded altogether too gleeful, but before he could respond there was a strong swirling current that picked up around him. He had just become aware of a heavy feeling, as if he was underwater, but before he could wonder how he hadn't noticed it before he was sucked in by the quickly forming maelstrom and lost consciousness once again.

R&R


	3. Bad Sensei

Finally, a new chapter for the Rueful Avenger. Don't think I've forgotten it, I have plans for this story and I'm not going anywhere. It's so hard to write chapters for this story, though, it's only 5,000 words but it took all day. Maybe because it's the closest I'll ever get to the drama category. Anyway, I hope you like it. Later.

Disclaimer.

* * *

Naruto woke up silently, drenched in sweat that was barely visible in the predawn light. Another nightmare of death and carnage; he'd been having them more often lately. He quickly took a shower and got dressed, before moving into his kitchen to make breakfast. As he waited for his ramen to cook, he took a look around his drab and largely empty apartment, thinking of the day ahead of him. He never liked staying here for long, it was too depressing. Hopefully he would be able to pass the genin exam this time and become a ninja, so he'd have something better to do than go to the academy and practice his horrible taijutsu and weapons skills. He'd stopped listening to the teachers years ago, realizing that they taught him differently than the other students, just like they treated him differently.

Instead, he watched the other students train covertly, trying to master the basic abilities that way. It worked pretty well, too, considering he'd never been taught the finer points. His skills were still horrible by ninja standards, though, but at least the basics were all there. Hopefully his jounin-sensei would teach him better, considering it would be someone Hokage-Jiji had chosen. That was only if he managed to pass, though, and the chances of that were abysmal.

The last two times he had taken the exam, he had failed because he couldn't control his chakra well enough for the bunshin no jutsu, and he was willing to bet that this time the exam would be the same, considering his luck. Although his bad luck seemed mysteriously tied to his teachers' desire for him to fail utterly. Funny how that worked. But not surprising, really, considering what he contained.

On the way back from training one day, he'd heard a drunkard talking about the Kyuubi—in the present tense. Which made no sense considering that the academy taught that the Kyuubi had been killed by the Yondaime. It didn't take long for Naruto long to figure out the gruesome truth. He wasn't a complete idiot, after all. He read about the Kyuubi and discovered that it was "killed" on the same day he was born. Put together with his memories of being called demon a lot as a child, and it was easy to figure out that the villagers believed him to be the Kyuubi.

There was probably some truth in it as well, considering his dreams. All he knew for sure, though, was that no demon would ever put up with the treatment he received from the villagers. No demon would be as weak as he was. So no matter what the villagers said, no matter what sort of dreams he had, it couldn't be as simple as him being the demon. He hoped. Eventually, of course, he noticed the seal on his stomach and with a great deal of relief came to the conclusion that while he must contain the demon, he was in no way a demon himself.

The dreams must come from the demon as well, which he was grateful for. Not that he liked that idea, but at least he knew that the blood-thirst in those dreams didn't come from him. He was already more used to those dreams than was comfortable; fortunately he didn't have to worry about eventually becoming a cannibal so long as the seal held the demon back. He may hate the villagers, but that didn't mean he wanted to eat them.

He probably wouldn't mind too much if they were dead, either, but his Jiji loved everyone in the village, even including him, so he wouldn't disappoint the old man by killing the people he'd sworn to almost wished that he could hate the old man for binding him in such a way, but he couldn't hate one of the only three people that had treated him as a human being. He didn't want to, either. One thing he'd sworn to himself not to do was become the monster the villagers believed him to be, and since he had so few people he could trust he would never betray himself or the promise he'd made.

He thought about what he would do when he inevitably failed his test today, but not being much of a planner, decided to just wait and see. He could always ask Jiji for advice after-wards, and there was a kid the year before who couldn't use jutsu at all, so what would be so bad about him having too much chakra to use bunshin no jutsu? He doubted that they would keep him out of the ninja corps permanently for such a stupid reason. As a demon container, he was much too valuable, after all.

With that cheerful thought, he headed off to the academy at a brisk pace, not wanting to be late on such an important day.

* * *

Naruto sat at the academy in his usual spot next to Shikamaru, but today he didn't join the other boy in his daily nap. He was nervous, but trying not to show it; staring at the ceiling and waiting for his name to be called. Not for the first time, he hated that his name was at the end of the alphabet, it was always used as an excuse to put him last in demonstrations so he could be humiliated. The students were slowly disappearing, not returning to the room after getting their hitai-ate or failing. As Shikamaru was called, he felt eyes on him, not the Hyuuga girl's either since she'd already gone to get tested. He looked around, but saw no-one looking at him.

As the students continued to file out, however, the weight of his watcher's eyes seemed to increase until he could hardly bear it any longer. He finally gave in and looked around; he could have sworn he saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. Instead of going back to examining the ceiling though, he watched the other students remaining in the room. The only one he knew anything about was Uchiha Sasuke. He'd always been jealous of the clan heir. He didn't envy him having his entire family murdered, but having everyone like you and at least knowing that your parents loved you—it must be nice. While he was trying to figure out if Sasuke could have been the one staring at him (impossible since the bastard didn't care about anyone but himself) Sasuke's name was called and he realized they were the only students left. He'd been staring himself and before he could look away Sasuke met his eyes and gave a little nod before leaving the room.

Had the bastard just _nodded_ at him? He was seriously wondering whether the boy was an imposter at this point. Considering his odd behavior, maybe he had been the one who was watching him. Creepy. He already had one stalker, he didn't need another. But he could count on one hand the number of times Sasuke had made eye contact with him or anyone for that matter. The only times he'd had any sort of interaction with the boy was when he saw him at the lake on his way home from the training fields. But that was a long time ago, why would the bastard try to act nice now? He shook his head and went back to staring at the ceiling.

* * *

He'd failed, unsurprisingly. He could almost see the relief on Iruka's face when he failed to produce a proper bunshin. The man wasn't an awful person, but he was frightened of Naruto and somewhat hateful to him as well. It was easy to see why, though. Iruka's parents' names were on the memorial stone with a large clump of other names that he knew had all been added during the Kyuubi attack. Naruto had memorized those names; the people whose deaths led to the villagers hating him. It made it easier, somehow, whenever he recognized the names of the deceased that were borne by the living. Those people that were cruelest to him were always the ones that had relatives who'd given their lives fighting the Kyuubi. He'd learned to stay out of the way of those people, both for his sake and theirs.

The only one he couldn't avoid on a regular basis was Iruka, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He thought maybe in time people would move on and he wouldn't be as much of an ever-present reminder of their grief as he was. In the mean time, though, he planned to lay low, become a ninja and join the hunter-nin corps once he became a chuunin. That way he could be out of the village on long trips and not have to face the villagers.

He knew better than to hope that he would ever be able to leave the village for good, though. Even Jiji wouldn't be able to keep the council from hunting him down and executing him if he did. Even if he managed to survive, he'd have to kill Konoha-nin to do so, and his Jiji would never want that. So he contented himself with the thought that one day he would be able to spend most of his time alone and out of the village. Not that he wanted to be alone, exactly, but it was preferable to being surrounded by people who hated him.

But to get to that point, he'd have to graduate, a problem he was contemplating at this very moment as he walked slowly to a familiar hill.

"Naruto!" A voice came from behind him.

"Mizuki-sensei, what is it?" Naruto replied somewhat warily. Mizuki had been acting strangely, considering that he was the man who dedicated a great deal of time to destroying Naruto's Taijutsu training. He'd stood up for Naruto against Iruka, his friend, suggesting that Naruto could be passed despite his horrible bunshin. And now this, Naruto wondered what the man was up to.

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier, Iruka was just trying to make sure that you're properly prepared to graduate. He's an orphan too, you probably remind him of himself, so he wants you to do well." Mizuki said kindly.

Naruto restrained a snort of disbelief and decided to play along, "I know that, but I still wanted to finally pass this time." he said quietly.

Mizuki's eyes became cunning for a moment before he smiled encouragingly, "I know a way you can pass, Naruto, there's a special test..."

Naruto allowed his eyes to widen at what Mizuki wanted him to do. Steal the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing? Something like that would probably have the seal on his stomach in it, as well. He'd probably be executed if he didn't get away with it. But instead of saying no, he pulled his lips into a grin of anticipation. Best to play along for now. Mizuki would have to kill him if he revealed that he understood that this was a trap. If he wanted to live, he's have to go along with it.

On the way to the Hokage's residence, though, he repeatedly failed to find a way out of this situation. He needed to prove that Mizuki was the one who put him up to it. Even the old man wouldn't be able to just take his word on it being a trick. He'd have to trick Mizuki if he wanted to live through the night. If the man found him alone with the scroll once he'd stolen it, he'd kill him and take the scroll for himself. Naruto went back to trying to think up a way to beat Mizuki at his own game and so didn't notice the silent shadow following him.

* * *

Naruto raced into a small clearing a little way from the place where he was supposed to meet Mizuki. Wasting no time, he unrolled the Forbidden Scroll, looking for something that might be of use. The scroll was filled with extremely high level seals and elemental jutsu, and Naruto knew there was no way he'd be able to learn any of them in the little time he had. Fortunately, the first jutsu seemed much easier than the others and was apparently only classified as forbidden due to the large amount of chakra required. It was also an advanced variant of the bunshin no jutsu. Perfect. Reading through the use of the jutsu one more time, he goggled: the jutsu allowed the experiences of the clone to be transferred to the original. Basically everything transferred besides physical changes. He started to think of the possibilities, but stopped. First he'd have to learn the jutsu.

A few hours later and Naruto sat on the ground panting. He was sure there was a lot more he could learn about using the jutsu, but for now he had it down. He grinned in triumph. He'd graduate for sure if he could survive against Mizuki. He created a kage bunshin complete with scroll and sent it to the clearing, following behind it much more quietly. Just as he got to within clear view of the clearing, his clone hid in a bush at the edge of the treeline.

A few minutes later Iruka came into the clearing and Naruto came out of hiding.

"Naruto! Do you know how much trouble you're in? You have to return the Forbidden Scroll immediately!" Iruka's voice rose an octave and the man looked slightly panicked. He stopped suddenly, though, looking at Naruto warily.

"Why are you all beat up?" Iruka asked, eyeing Naruto's scruffy appearance.

"I learned a jutsu from this scroll. Mizuki-sen-" Naruto started, but was cut off by the sound of kunai cutting through the air. Iruka hurriedly pushed the Naruto clone out of the way and took the kunai to his chest.

In the shadows of the trees, Naruto started to move forward, only to realize that he wouldn't make it in time. Instead, he started circling around behind Mizuki.

"Mizuki! What are you doing?" Iruka shouted. The Naruto clone sat staring at his injured sensei before scrambling to his feet.

"The better question is what are you doing, Iruka? The demon stole the scroll! It's going to unseal itself! And you're sitting around chatting with the monster, and then you keep me from apprehending it! Why?" Mizuki looked incensed, but Naruto's clone could see the malice in the man's eyes.

Iruka blinked, "Mizuki, Naruto's not-" he started, but was interrupted.

"Not what? The demon-king Kyuubi? He is and you know it! He's the same demon that killed your parents and you stand up for him? What would they think?" Mizuki practically screamed at Iruka.

Iruka gasped, "Mizuki, you know we're not allowed to talk about that!" By this time, the man seemed practically frantic not to listen to Mizuki's poisonous words.

"Hokage-sama told me that Naruto's just an orphan like me with a horrible burden and Hokage-sama doesn't lie!" Iruka cried desperately.

"The Hokage doesn't lie, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been fooled by the demon's cunning! Just look at him, he knows exactly what he is!" Mizuki pointed at Naruto dramatically and Iruka turned to look at the clone with widening eyes.

The clone met the man's fearful eyes for just a moment before flinching and looking down in shame. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong, but he couldn't stand the doubt in the man's eyes. In the shadows a little behind Mizuki Naruto cringed at the stricken look on his clone's face. He was suddenly glad that he would only experience that as a memory. He didn't know what he would do if Mizuki managed to convince Iruka that he really was the demon.

The man had been kind to Naruto despite his wariness, and he didn't want to hurt him. He could only hope that his clone would speak up before things got worse since he couldn't reveal his presence yet. But to his growing trepidation the clone just continued to look at the ground as Iruka looked back and forth between him and Mizuki in despair.

The three stood still as clay figurines until Mizuki took a Fuuma shuriken off his back and looked at Iruka. "I know you don't like this Iruka, but it has to be done." Mizuki said before hefting the shuriken and throwing it at the unmoving clone.

Iruka took a step towards Naruto with a guilty look, but acted too slowly to stop the shuriken that was barreling towards the motionless boy. His face reflected horror at what he was witnessing and he blanched and closed his eyes as the shuriken began to pierce the child's head.

After a moment, however, he realized that he hadn't heard the sound of metal piercing through skull and he opened his eyes uneasily.

* * *

The clearing was dead silent and still. Naruto stood watching the scene in shock from behind the cover of a tree. The situation had rapidly deteriorated and he'd been planning on attacking Mizuki from behind before the man could realize that the boy he was attacking was a clone, but before he could do that someone else had intervened.

While his clone cowered and Iruka and Mizuki stood stock still, the unexpected arrival stood calmly holding the fuuma shuriken away from the smaller boy's head with one hand. The clone looked up and stared in disbelief at the boy protecting it. Naruto was sure there was an identical expression on his face because the boy that had saved his clone was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was not having a good day. In fact, he was downright pissed. When he'd woken up after the being had dismissed him, he'd found himself back in his room at the Uchiha clan compound. Shortly afterward he had discovered that he was twelve and that he was running late on the day of his (second) graduation exam.

If that weren't bad enough, he had arrived at the academy expecting, at the least, to find Naruto sitting in his usual seat next to Sasuke's only to see the blonde-haired boy sitting next to Shikamaru and staring disaffectedly at the ceiling. Even worse, the boy was wearing dark gray shorts and a white shirt with a red spiral. Normal, non-orange clothes. Sasuke had to restrain both his delight at seeing the boy alive again and his consternation at how very un-Naruto-like the boy was acting.

He watched Naruto as the children slowly filed out of the room and came to some disturbing conclusions. This was normal behavior for this Naruto. He was quiet and able to sit still for a long period of time. He didn't make jokes or try to impress or amuse the rest of the class. This boy was just biding his time and trying to go unnoticed until his turn came.

And it was working. Only a couple of the other students had acknowledged the blonde's presence at all. The teacher's ignored him except for the occasional glare. It was beyond shocking for Sasuke to see Naruto acting so dull and lifeless in comparison to the cheerful and hyper boy he'd known. It made his chest tight just thinking about the differences between the two Naruto's and he wondered how things had turned out this way.

As he watched the small boy, though, he became aware of something else. Naruto knew he was being watched. He was sure of it and when the boy started to look around for his watcher, Sasuke carefully averted his gaze. He kept watching Naruto though, amused at the boy's increasingly apparent frustration.

At least Naruto wasn't too far gone to get annoyed. That was something, although the boy was obviously far more wary than his Naruto had ever been. 'Dobe', Sasuke thought fondly, wondering what he was going to do with the small boy. He decided to keep his distance for now and keep an eye on him.

He wondered if Naruto would fail this time as well and since he'd never found out how Naruto passed in the first place he'd have to follow him, which was fine since that's what he'd intended to do anyway. His name was called to take the test then and he made eye contact with the boy that had been staring at him for awhile now.

At first Naruto seemed embarrassed at being caught, but then he glared, predictably. Sasuke held back an amused smirk with difficulty and merely nodded at the boy before walking down the aisle. He didn't miss the shocked look on the boy's face though, and figured he was off to a good start.

Later he revised that opinion, holding back the activation of his Mangekyou Sharingan with difficulty while watching Mizuki convince Iruka that Naruto ought to be murdered. The man wasn't in complete agreement, but when Sasuke saw the doubtful and fearful gaze he cast on Naruto, he knew Iruka wouldn't protect him.

The look on Naruto's face made his blood boil and now he understood why the Naruto of this world was so different from the Naruto he'd known. The relationship between Iruka and Naruto had been full of love and trust, like the relationship between siblings ought to be. Without it, Naruto would have had no one at the academy and would have given up on ever being accepted in Konoha.

Like this Naruto had. Only the memory of how much Naruto had treasured Iruka kept Sasuke from striking the man down where he stood. He might regret his actions in the past, but he was still an avenger at heart, after all. Instead he waited and when he saw the shuriken flying towards Naruto, he used Shunshin to catch the shuriken before it dispelled Naruto's clone.

Of course he'd seen Naruto create the clone, and knew that the boy was hiding in the trees behind Mizuki, but no proper teammate would give away the position of another. Instead of looking at the boy across the clearing, he leveled a death glare on his one-time sensei.

"What are you doing, Iruka-sensei? Mizuki's the one who told Naruto to steal the Forbidden Scroll. Are you really so blind that you'd let your student be killed right in front of you?" Sasuke said disdainfully.

* * *

"S-Sasuke? What are you doing here?" Iruka stammered, staring at the boy. When all Sasuke did was glare at him accusingly he came back to himself and looked at Naruto. The boy was looking between Sasuke an Iruka with wide eyes and Iruka felt a sharp stab of guilt. He could see clearly now that Naruto had done nothing to deserve the treatment he'd received from everyone. Naruto was innocent and in his foolish fear, Iruka had nearly let him be killed.

He turned to Mizuki with furrowed eyebrows. "What's going on here, Mizuki, is this true? How could you?"

Mizuki laughed at his deception being discovered, "Come on Iruka," he called mockingly, "This way the demon will get what it deserves for killing your parents and everyone else. We can make it look like he killed that other brat and then was killed himself. The village will be so glad that the demon's dead that we'll be acknowledged as heroes!" Mizuki grinned in anticipation, thinking 'then I can get rid of you and take the Scroll to Orochimaru-sama. He'll grant me all the power I could ever dream of!'

Iruka stared at the madman he'd once called friend in horror, feeling nauseous when he realized the horrible thing he'd allowed to happen His face set in determination, he joined Sasuke standing in front of Naruto and spoke firmly,

"Mizuki, I never believed you were capable of such cruelty, but then it seems I've been wrong about a lot of things." He spoke to Naruto without turning around, "I'm so sorry, Naruto, I should have never doubted you. You're no demon, you're one of my precious students and I knew you'd never do such a thing, I just—got scared.

I'm sorry, I've failed you as your sensei, but I swear it will never happen again. You're the only reason my parents' deaths weren't in vain. You're the hero that's protected the Leaf village from the day you were born and I will do everything in my power to help you prove it to everyone else too, if you'll give me and the other fools in this village another chance." Iruka looked near tears at this point, but he pulled himself together and glared at Mizuki fiercely.

"Mizuki! You wont hurt Naruto! You'll have to step over my cold dead body if you want to lay even a finger on him!" Iruka yelled.

* * *

Mizuki laughed again, his eyes never leaving Iruka, "I don't think that will be a problem. Do you really think an out of shape Chuunin and an academy student, sorry I mean new genin, could keep me from what I want? Unlike you, I've been preparing for this for years. And now, it's time to get my prize."

Mizuki pulled the second fuuma shuriken off his back and prepared to attack, only to dodge out of the way at the last moment as a punch flew through the air where his head had just been. Naruto turned in his flight to land on his feet in front of Iruka, watching Mizuki like a hawk. At the same time, the two clones that had launched him across the clearing and the one behind Iruka and Sasuke puffed into smoke, while another that was guarding the scroll hid behind the tree.

"You wont touch them, you asshole! I'll kill you!" With that out of the way the furious boy formed his hands into a cross shape and yelled, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The clearing filled up with nearly a hundred enraged clones who immediately attacked Mizuki. The man managed to take down over half, but was eventually overcome by sheer numbers and pummeled into unconsciousness.

Naruto's clones puffed away and the one that had been hiding delivered the scroll to him before doing the same. Naruto turned to look almost shyly at Iruka, "Sensei, I-" The boy never got to finish as he was enveloped in a crushing hug from his sensei. He turned a stunned face towards Sasuke who just smirked a bit. The confused boy turned his attention back to his sensei who was rambling a mile a minute.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto! I'm glad you're alright! I'm so proud of you, but where did you learn that jutsu? Are you alright after making so many Kage Bunshin? It's a kinjutsu for a reason, you know. You were too reckless, you could have died from chakra exhaustion! Was the other one a clone, too? That was clever, sending a bunshin ahead, but you shouldn't have tried to take on Mizuki alone. I-" Before he could continue, Naruto pulled away and clamped a hand over the man's mouth.

"I'm fine, sensei. I learned it from the Forbidden Scroll. I have a lot of chakra, so I knew it'd be safe for me to use it. I didn't ask for help cause I didn't think anyone but Jiji would believe me without proof and I didn't want to get him in trouble with the council. A lot of the members hate me, so..." Naruto trailed off and shrugged, removing his hand from the man's mouth.

"Naruto, I-" Iruka began, but Naruto shook his head.

"It's ok, sensei. The Kyuubi killed a lot of people and would probably do it again if he could. It can't be helped that people are scared of it. But you never blamed me; you were never mean to me even though you were scared and hated being reminded of your parents' deaths. You treated me more fairly than any of the other teachers, so it's ok." Naruto shrugged again, but it was obvious that it was a little forced.

Iruka studied the boy in front of him for a second while Sasuke narrowed his eyes a bit. Sighing finally, the man placed his hand on Naruto's head and ruffled it a bit. "I see. Even after everything you've grown into a good person. Thank the gods for Hokage-sama or this village would be lost. But even if I was fair towards you, it still doesn't excuse how I treated you. As an orphan myself, I know how painful being left alone and being mocked for it is.

I used to act like an idiot, like I didn't care even though it was so painful I could hardly bear it. People would either look down on me or pity me and it was horrible. It didn't get better until I gained comrades and friends and later became a teacher. It must have been even worse for you, Naruto. You too, Sasuke. I should have never sat by while you were both suffering like that. I promise to make it up to you."

By the end the man's eyes were full of tears again and he sniffed a bit before smiling a little. "Thank you for not hating me, Naruto. Now before we do anything else, close your eyes. I'm not going to be your teacher anymore soon, so there's something I want to give you first."

A bit nervously, Naruto complied. He felt a weight resting on his forehead and brushed his fingers across the leaf insignia on his teacher's hitai-ate in awe before smiling broadly for the first time in a long time and jumping to hug Iruka again. The man laughed, holding Naruto tightly and silently thanking kami-sama for the chance to right his mistakes.

Iruka shot a glance over to Sasuke and saw the stone-faced boy appraise him for a moment before giving him a small nod of approval. He sighed in relief and hugged the tiny (malnourished) boy in his arms a little tighter before preparing to face the village and turn Mizuki in. He told the boy's that he'd take them both to get breakfast at Ichiraku no ramen, a place he'd never taken any of his students before.

He walked with Naruto's hand clasped in his right hand and Mizuki's body over his left shoulder, a little stiff from the shallow kunai incisions, but otherwise alright. Sasuke walked on his left with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his face blank. It would be a long time before the pain of Mizuki's betrayal passed, and it might take even longer before the boys with him fully trusted him and were able to move on from their suffering to lead happy lives. But Iruka didn't care, he was looking at the sky and couldn't help but smile at how beautiful the dawn of a new day could be.

* * *

Whew. New chapter complete. And for those of you who expected Naruto to be evil, don't hold your breaths. He's too young to be completely evil, even Orochimaru was impressionable at that age. He could go either way, considering that it's easier to say you forgive than to actually do so...

R&R, Please.


	4. Reverse Psychology?

Hello. I know the update's a little short, but I'm a busy person lately. No worries, though, I will still make time to write. Right now I'm working on Mimesis, Red Haze and Kage's Bunshin. So my next update will be one of those three. Enjoy. ; )

Disclaimed.

* * *

The next day Sasuke woke up to a loud pounding on his front door. He was already in a foul mood from having to live in his clan house again, being woken up at damn near dawn was not improving things.

You'd think that he would be glad to be back in his home, but a lot of time had past since he really thought of it that way and now mostly bad memories remained. Not to say that he didn't have good memories of his family here, but looking back he could see that those memories were overshadowed by presages of doom that he'd merely been too young to understand.

His entire family had been fated to die and he'd been the only one to not accept that inevitability even after it was too late to do change anything. No, there was one other. Naruto had never accepted that anything was fated. He'd been fated to bear the brunt of an entire nation's hatred from the day he was born, but he never accepted it. He changed it instead.

Which was why Sasuke had been so jealous of him. For Naruto there was hope, no matter how foolish. For Sasuke there was none, nothing he could do would ever change things. Which was true even now.

But that didn't mean there was no hope for him. Naruto was his hope and always had been. Not hope to change the past, but hope to change the future instead. He'd just been too bitter to acknowledge it.

None of that made him any happier to be woken up early though. Sasuke was not a morning person by nature.

He opened the door to be greeted with the sight of a bright blonde head of hair that reflected the sun into his eyes. Naruto stood in front of him wearing a pair of black slacks and an orange t-shirt and looking at him with a determined expression on his face.

Sasuke fought back the wave of memories that threatened to engulf him at the sight of the shirt and instead focused on the boy's face. It was there that the difference was apparent. This Naruto had had his cheerful mask stripped away when he realized he was a jinchuuriki. Since he had no one to reassure him, he bore the harsh truth himself and it changed him.

This Naruto was more like Sasuke than he was comfortable with. He hadn't had the same luck that the other Naruto had been gifted with and for the first time Sasuke could understand a little why Naruto had chased after him for so long. He must have realized just how little differentiated them from each other.

Despite that though, this Naruto had the same determination that he'd seen in his Naruto's eyes and Sasuke knew he had some explaining to do. This Naruto was more observant and wouldn't just trust the intentions of others.

He silently motioned the other boy inside and wondered how he was going to convince Naruto to trust him. He was understandably wary of others and Sasuke could see nothing of the powerful faith Naruto had had. It was that power to believe in himself and others that had caused people to question even their most strongly held beliefs in the face of his conviction.

Sasuke realized that there was no way to convince Naruto to trust him. If he was honest and this Naruto had the same potential as the other, then he would, and if not...well, then Sasuke would beat his hopelessness out of him. It had always worked in the past.

Mind made up, Sasuke looked at Naruto askance, silently inquiring about the other boy's presence.

Naruto glared and huffed, before speaking a bit reluctantly.

"Why? You were keeping an eye on me all that day, even though you always ignored everyone. What changed?"

Sasuke tried to think of a reasonable explanation and shrugged, "That's sort of what I'd been wondering for awhile myself. You changed. I didn't notice at first, but I'm not as blind as some of the other students. I wondered why you would take the exam when it was obvious you were going to fail. You didn't seem worried and I wanted to know why. Now I do."

Naruto stared at him silently for awhile before frowning lightly, "But why did you..."

He didn't finish, but Sasuke knew he was referring to Sasuke protecting his clone from Mizuki's Fuuma Shuriken.

Sasuke smirked a little before responding, "My body moved on its own."

Naruto continued staring at him dubiously for a moment before relenting,

"Fine, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just...keep in mind that I'm not anyone's pawn. If you were planning on using me for your revenge, it wont work."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, "Do you think that the only reason someone would accept what you are is because they intend to use you?"

Naruto imitated Sasuke's look and replied, "You haven't given me a better explanation."

Sasuke felt his annoyance at being woken up so early return with a vengeance and he rubbed his right temple in irritation.

"Follow me." He said abruptly and turned to leave without another word.

After a moment, Naruto followed, looking distinctly disgruntled.

Sasuke led the way to training ground three and then turned to look at Naruto with his arms crossed.

"Attack me."

Naruto looked confused briefly before covering it up with annoyance,

"What's your problem, teme?"

"You wanted an explanation. So, attack me. A good ninja doesn't need words to communicate."

Naruto hesitated for a moment before creating two shadow clones and sending them to attack Sasuke. He followed after clearly hoping to get a hit in while Sasuke was dealing with his clones.

Sasuke smirked; Naruto had already thought out the rudiments of fighting a stronger opponent. But his smirk faded when he realized that that also indicated that Naruto was reluctant to attack an opponent directly.

He couldn't ever remember a time when his Naruto had implicitly recognized Sasuke as stronger. He frowned, wondering what he could do to restore the other boy's confidence.

Then Naruto's clones were upon him and he reacted instinctively. He activated his Sharingan, destroyed the two clones with a couple of sharp jabs and then kicked the real Naruto in the stomach.

Naruto flew away and landed with an oomph.

"It's good to have a plan, but it wont work if you don't have the courage to face your opponent." Sasuke said almost lazily.

Naruto looked stricken before his face took on a familiar look of offended rage.

"Teme!"

With a growl the other boy attacked him with taijutsu only, then summoned clones whenever Sasuke knocked him back with a solid kick or punch. Sasuke noted the look of concentration on Naruto's face and how he was slowly edging his way closer to Sasuke with the aid of his clones.

Sasuke smirked; this was more like it.

A moment later, a barrage of kunai came at Sasuke and landed around him as he blocked some and dodged others. He pulled out several shuriken from his equipment pouch and waited.

Sure enough all of the kunai turned into clones and attacked him simultaneously. He spun in a circle throwing shuriken with precision at each of the clones, dispelling them all.

He had just a moment to react as Naruto came flying through the smoke created by his clones with his fist cocked back to knock Sasuke out. Sasuke quickly dropped to the ground and rolled back in order to kick Naruto as he flew over him.

Naruto flew upside down through the air and hit his back against a tree, knocking the air from his lungs before he promptly fell on his head. Sasuke winced a little as he heard a distinct crack come from Naruto's head and wondered briefly if he'd been a little hard on the boy.

As Naruto struggled to rise, Sasuke walked towards him and offered the other boy his hand. Naruto looked at it in surprise and shock before grinning a bit and grabbing Sasuke's hand.

The next thing Sasuke knew he was on the ground in a pile with his elbow sticking into Naruto's side. He elbowed Naruto to make him stop laughing before pulling away and righting himself.

* * *

"Dobe." Sasuke muttered as he settled himself against the tree, knowing it might be awhile before Naruto calmed down.

Naruto continued laughing despite the pain in his side. He may have gotten his ass kicked, but that was the most fun he'd had in a long time. It was nearly impossible for someone like him to find someone to spar with and the exhilaration of a good fight was making him a little high.

He finally got himself under control and shot a glance at the mysterious boy lounging next to him with his eyes closed. The fight hadn't revealed much to Naruto about Sasuke's motives, but Naruto was already starting to trust him. There was no malice in Sasuke's punches and kicks, just a sense of friendly competition; if anything about the surly Uchiha could be called friendly, that is.

Sasuke was leaning back against the tree in relaxation, and Naruto was sure that he'd never seen him this relaxed in front of anyone before. At least since his clan was massacred.

But there was still something about Sasuke that didn't sit right with Naruto. He was so strong and self-confident that it was unreal. Not cocky and careless like he usually was, just...certain.

Naruto couldn't help but be envious of the other boy's calm certainty that he knew very well he lacked.

Still, Naruto thought with a smirk of his own, Sasuke had shown him that people could change. Maybe he wasn't such a bastard after all.

* * *

A moment later Sasuke opened his eyes.

"Why would I want to use you when with enough time and training I can get revenge on my own? Besides, it's my clan that was murdered; no one can take revenge in my place."

Naruto's eyes widened in understanding before narrowing in thought.

"What are you going to do? Leave the village?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You say that like you've thought of it yourself."

Naruto squirmed a little under Sasuke's gaze.

"Why would I leave the village? The man responsible for the deaths of my clansmen will one day target Konoha. By staying here, I guarantee that I will get the chance to keep him from getting what he wants."

Sasuke idly wondered how Naruto would react if he knew that the 'thing' he was talking about was Naruto himself. He watched as Naruto fell quiet while he considered his words. It was unnerving seeing Naruto think things through so carefully.

"I have thought of leaving the village." Naruto confessed abruptly.

Sasuke kept his face blank to hide his shock. Exactly how much of the Naruto he'd known was in the boy's nature and how much due to circumstance? He never thought he'd see the day where he'd be the one trying to talk the other out of leaving the village. But the way the boy was now, that was a definite possibility.

Sasuke, though, was a stubborn person and wouldn't accept the situation easily. He refused to believe that this confused and beaten boy was all there was left in this world of the Naruto he'd known. His Naruto or not, he knew there would always be more than that to the only person he'd ever acknowledged as a rival.

"What would you gain from that?"

Naruto frowned and asked angrily, "What do you mean?"

Sasuke smirked, "People are the same everywhere. It's true that many of the villagers bear particular hatred towards you as opposed to other Jinchuuriki, but that doesn't mean there are other places where you'd be accepted despite what you hold within you.

On the contrary, because of the Sandaime, ninja in Konoha are more likely to be accepting of what you are than ninja in other villages would be. Most villages would treat you as nothing more than a weapon, but Konoha has always valued its ninja highly in comparison to other villages.

If you leave Konoha, then you would become either the tool of another village to wage war on Konoha, or a missing-nin. And missing nin are reviled everywhere. If you think such a life would be easier than the one you have now, you're wrong.

All the villages and even other missing-nin would hunt you down under you were captured. Then you would be either locked up or have the Kyuubi extracted so it could be sealed into someone else. You, of course, would die in the process."

Sasuke knew he was being harsh, but didn't particularly care. He didn't mind the dobe being a fool in many things, but he wouldn't permit him to believe that leaving the village would end well for him. How Naruto reacted to that information depended on him, but as far as Sasuke was concerned, Naruto _had_ to be capable of accepting and overcoming it. He had no other choice if he wanted things to change for the better.

Sasuke watched as emotions cascaded over Naruto's face. His face held anguish before his eyes dulled to a defeated dark blue for awhile. Finally he pulled himself together and glared at Sasuke defiantly.

"If I really wanted to leave and start a new life, I would find a way."

Naruto bit out furiously, and once again Sasuke was reminded of his younger self uncomfortably.

Sasuke inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment.

"But there are already people here who know what you are and accept you. You can either choose to fight the villagers' hatred of you or decide it's not worth it and run away, hoping you can make a better life elsewhere. And maybe you can." Sasuke said with a shrug. "But either way it depends on you."

Sasuke got up and turned his back on Naruto, heading to the market to get fresh tomatoes to add to an omelet. He hadn't eaten before their spar and was starving now.

Before he made it to the treeline, however, he heard Naruto inhale sharply and stopped, waiting.

Behind him, Naruto's head was down as he gathered his courage.

"That man will have comrades. There's no way you can face them all alone, no matter how strong you are. You'll need backup. Besides, I was planning to become a hunter-nin anyway."

At this, Sasuke turned his head to look at Naruto, but didn't answer, still waiting for something.

Naruto's eyes shone fiercely as he continued, "Then one day I'll be stronger than you and will be made Hokage. And I will make certain there is never another Jinchuuriki made in this village. Ever."

And Sasuke believed him. This Naruto wasn't so different after all. He missed the smile that haunted his dreams, but at least this one would be less likely to throw away his life on a whim.

Sasuke smirked and merely nodded his head before leaving the clearing.

In doing so, though, he missed the familiar smile that graced Naruto's face.

* * *

R&R


End file.
